Merry Little ChRIstMas?

CHRISTMAS?$&!
for crying out loud Jennifer, it is not even October!

I know I know, but I got the new Christmas Tree stamp and Die set from Prickley Pear
and I just had to play with it.

I was able to glue 4 of the trees together and they make a really cool 3-D tree.



And I tied it all together with the red and white butchers twine, and some vintage glass glitter. I loved how this ended up looking.

Something Wicked this way comes....

So on Saturday and Sunday I stood in line trying to get
Wicked tickets through a Lottery.

No luck.

I had to go downtown 3 times. (About 15 miles away) not a long way, but to figure out the parking was crazy. I really want to see Wicked again, and I want Jon to see it. The theatre is offering rush tickets before each show, and you have to arrive 2.5 hours early to get your name in a bucket and then they only pull out 10 names for the winners. the first time I went there were about 75 people waiting. The second time...a little more maybe 125. and then yesterday there were at least 200 waiting to try to get tickets. Each time only 10 tickets were available. But if you are the lucky ione, you only have to pay $25.00 a ticket compared to 120.00 and the tickets that you can win are in the first 6 rows! The best in the house.

Maybe I'll try later this week?

So instead of seeing Wicked for now, I made this card...enjoy!

I hope you are having fun with the Prickley Pear Blog Hop.

Don't forget to stop by the PP blog and see what they are showcasing each day.

Here is another card I made with the Pumpkin Die-Cut and stamp set.

I can't believe that Halloween is right around the corner.

Prickley Pear Blog Hop

Welcome to the Prickley Pear Rubber Stamp Blog Hop! We have 4 beautiful new Fall and Holiday sets we are so pleased to announce.
Our Cardinal, Pumpkins, Ornaments and Trees sets!

Visit the Design Team’s daily releases and our blog over the
next 4 days to have chances to win one of these beautiful sets.

Today's Prize Package includes the Pumpkins set and Matching die.

Each day you have more than one chance to win. Start at the Prickley Pear Rubber Stamp Blog. Simply post our logo onto your website, become a follower and leave a comment on the Prickley Pear Blog for one chance to win. Then hop on over to the day’s release blogs and make comments there for more chances to win. Sounds easy enough. And the bonus is that you’ll see some fabulous paper projects featuring the new sets.

Today, you will need to visit Jenny's and my site and leave comments!

For each release, you’ll have 2 days to participate…you’ll have until midnight the night AFTER the release day to enter comments. Please just one comment per blog.

A wonderful partnership

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a great partnership

For the next couple posts I will be showcasing PP stamps along

with PK Glitz glitter! They are a preferred partner of Prickley Pear!

The glitter is so beautiful and I love how fine it is.

You can use it for detail and it shows up great!

Blog Hop Starts Today! Chance to win $50 in product!

Welcome to the Prickley Pear Rubber Stamp Blog Hop to introduce a new line of coordinating die cuts and clear stamps.

Visit the Design Team’s daily releases and the Prickley Pear Rubber Stamp blog from May 18 until May 21 to have chances to win one of four prize packages worth $50 in PPRS products. Of course each of the prize packages will feature one of the new release sets: Build a Bird, Hibiscus, Build an Owl and Butterfly.

More than one chance to win!

Each day you have more than one chance to win. Start at the Prickley Pear Rubber Stamp Blog. Leave a comment on the blog for one chance to win. Then hop on over to the day’s release blogs and make comments there for more chances to win. Sounds easy enough. And the bonus is that you’ll see some fabulous paper projects featuring the new sets.

For each release, you’ll have 2 days to participate…you’ll have until midnight the night AFTER the release day to enter comments.

Please just one comment per blog.

Release schedule:

May 18^th Build a Bird Clear Stamps and Die Cut featured on PPRS Blog, Frillions by Eli and Tesa Scraps by Tesa

May 19^th Hibiscus Clear Stamps and Die Cut featured on PPRS Blog and One Krafty Kat by Jenny, Paper Talk by Leslie

May 20^th Build an Owl Clear Stamps and Die Cut featured on PPRS Blog and Life is what you make it by Anya and Random Vintage Finds by Jennifer

May 21^st Butterfly Clear Stamps and Die Cut featured on PPRS Blog and Frillions by Eli

Now to show you what I did with the new build an owl set!

(a couple of the Prickley Pear girls... Me, Mary, Diane)

from the Scrapbook and Stamping Expo this last weekend.

Embossing Tutorial—Scrapbook

For my latest project for Prickley Pear, I was sent a blank chip board book. I was told to "be creative". So for my book I decided to make it a idea book. I love to emboss. So this entire book is about all the different ways to emboss.

Close-up of Cover

Cover

Page 1- Embossing with Embossing powders

Page 2- Embossing with Embossing folders

Page 3- Embossing on buttons with Embossing powders

Page 4- Embossing on flowers with Embossing powders

Page 5- Embossing Acetate

Page 6- Embossing Metal

Page 7- Embossing with UTEE

Page 8- Embossing with other mediums

Inside back cover with my stamp

Back Cover

It was really fun to make this book. It shows different ways to emboss.

I hope you try something new the next time you emboss!

All stamps in this book are Prickley Pear. Please visit their blog to learn more.

Prickley Pear Day 4

The last card for the Prickley Pear October preview is the Sketch challenge, please participate today! Visit Prickley Pear's blog and play along! They are giving away a PRIZE of $50.00 of unmounted rubberstamps!

Here's Mine:

Supplies:
PP:DCWV
Solid Paper: Kraft-Papertrey Ink, Brown-Archivers
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink,-Vintage Photo
Copics and Cotton String

Instructions:
Card size is A4, I placed a piece of PP to the left of center. Added a brown paper border edged with the Fiskars border punch, Stamped a great PPRS stamp in Distress ink on the brown. Stamped the stacked pumpkins on a distressed yellow paper, colored with Copics and cut out. Cut squares out of the same distressed yellow paper, and edged them in distress ink. Stamped the saying in the largest square. Glued the smaller squares down on the edged of the PP. Stamped the saying on the large square, added a pop-dot and placed it in between the smaller squares. Added pop-dots to the stacked pumpkins and added them to the left side of the PP. Drew a thin brown line around the top of the card, added some distress ink and then glued a knotted cotton string, knotting it to the ends of the border and at the corners.

You can purchase the Stacked Pumpkins stamp here and bottom border stamp (Aspen Flourish) here and the Happy Fall saying stamp here.

Prickley Pear Day 3

Girl ATC

Supplies:
Paper Solid: White-Neenah
Ribbon:Offrey
Tools: Copics, black threaded sewing machine, BoBunny Sticker, Vintage music paper, vintage button, cotton string, VersaMark pinecone #171 ink, Crop-a-dile eyelets, tiny attacher by Tim Hotlz, EK Success floral border punch and American Crafts rub-ons

Instructions:
I used the Transparency with the little girl playing with jewelry, colored the backside (negative side) with Copics. Flipped it to the right side and sewed it to the white cardstock using a straight stitch and black thread in the sewing machine. I only sewed 3 sides, so it would make a pocket. In that pocket I put 3 strips of vintage sheet music that I glued to a piece of cardstock, and tore. I edged the 3 strips in VersaColor pinecone #171, to give it a little age. I punched a hole with the crop-a-dile and inserted a eyelet. I tied a pink ribbon to the top as well as stapled a tiny staple to add a little hardness to it. i used a floral punch to the bottom of the 3 pieces for a added little touch. I put a American Crafts rub-on on 2 of the small strips and to the last one I added a BoBunny memories sticker. To finish it all off I tied a vintage button with cotton string and glued it to the front corner.

You can purchase the Transparencies here. They have a lot of really great transparencies in the collection.

Prickley Pear Day 2

(right now this card is being featured on the PPRS blog)

Grim Reaper Card

Supplies:
Paper Solid: Black- DCWV, Grey-ColorMates, Red-Papertrey Ink, White-Neenah
Paper Patterned: GCD Studios
Ribbon:Offrey
Tools: Copics (R29, W1, BV23 and blender), Pearl White Smooch, EK Success Chalks, Perfect Layers rulers, Memories ink, Dove Grey StazOn, Pop-dots, VersaMark, Hero Arts White Embossing powder and black threaded sewing machine

Instructions:
I cut down the grey paper to make a 6x6 card. I also cut down the pattern paper to 5x12 long enough so it wraps around to the back of the card, I glued and sewed that paper to the grey card. I stamped the reaper in Memories ink on white paper and colored him with the Copics. I also stamped the "coffee ring stamp" in Dove grey on the white (and made it look like a moon). I mounted the stamped image to a piece of red paper and then all of it on a piece of black paper (using my Perfect Layers rules to get the border perfect). I used the chalks to rub on the stamped paper and make it look like there are clouds. After the clouds were done, I cut apart a halloween spooky tree ATC PP Transparency and glued that onto the card (cutting around the stamped image). I took a pencil eraser and erased the very edge of the white portion of the card to add a little white border.

For the saying I cut a piece of black paper the width of the reaper image and stamped the saying with VersaMark and embossed it using white embossing powder. I mounted that using pop-dots to the very edge of the reaper image.

Before I glued down the stamped image I cut a small slit in the top of the card to feed the ribbon though it. Tied the ribbon in a knot at the bottom of the card.

I used pop-dots in all 4 corners of the layered grimm reaper image, and stuck that whole panel down to the top center of the card. To finish it off I edged the whole grey card in memories black ink.

You can purchase the Grim Reaper here, the Transparencies here and the coffee stain/moon here.

Now Showing in the RVF Theatre..... Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps

At the beginning of September I announced that I made the PPRS Design Team. Well, since then I have been playing with the stamps they sent me to make samples with. I just got gone with my first set of samples and sent them off to Nicole, so she can use them in the PPRS booth.

Here is my favorite one so far:

The one hard part of being on this DT is that I can't keep the cards, I have to make myself a sample if I want to keep them. I also have to tell how I make the cards. This is a step that is hard for me to do. I just make it, I really don't think about how I do it. Maybe this will force me to be more diligent on taking notes n how I create each piece. I also tend to get a little wordy when I describe the process.... as you'll find out now..

Deer Card

Supplies:

Paper Solid: Cream- Archivers, Blue-Stampin' up

Paper Patterned: Making Memories "Just Chill in"

Ribbon: May Arts Tools: Prisma Colored Pencils, E57 Copic, Cricut-Accent Essentials Cartridge, Fiskars border punch, Brown StazOn and VersaColor Pinecone #171

Instructions:

I cut down the blue paper to A2 size. I cut down the plaid paper to be slightly smaller than the A2 card so when Its mounted to the blue paper you can see just a little of the blue border. I used the Cricut to make the plaque that is mounted behind the deer, using the Accent Essentials Cartridge Acct#48 at 4". I used my Copic to edge the plaque before I glued it down (I did not want to see the white of the paper). I also edged the small border that is on top of the sentiment block with the Copic. I printed the "Happy Birthday Dad" on my computer, the font is called Haettenschweiler. I edged this block in the VersaColor just to add some depth. I glued the border tot he edge of the sentiment block, added pop-dots and mounted it on the card under the deer. Added the woodgrain ribbon tied in a knot to the spine of the card.

Here's how I did the Deer:

He is stamped 6 times on cream paper using brown Stazon. I colored all 6 of them using Prisma Colored Pencils. Next you need to cut out all 6 deer, making sure you cut them out the same. You need to analyze the deer and figure out which part would stick out the most and work backwards. I first cut out his nose, then the next layer is the nose, eyes and jawline. And so on and so forth, using up all 6 stamped images.

I used SU Dimensionals to put between the layers so they would "pop" off of each other. I then mounted that entire deer onto the woodgrain plaque on the card.

You can purchase the Deer/Buck Rubber Stamp here.